Yesterday, my dad, my son, Bubba and I all took a drive. We set out to let Bubba do some target practice, but it didn't turn out that way. We came across a road closure and while we stopped to watch the work crew, one of the guys on the crew points to the base of a telephone pole. We get out and look at what he's pointing at and we discover over a dozen garter snakes slithering around and getting warm in the afternoon sun. At this point, my wife would probably be back in the car, but since she wasn't with us, we all studied them closely.
Then Grandpa gets an idea...or maybe it was mine...I'm not saying. The idea was presented that one of them would be a cool pet for Bubba. I snickered at the thought and said, "Yeah, right. I'd be in the doghouse just for thinking that." Well, Grandpa and Bubba had no regard for my sleeping arrangements and Grandpa dug out a bag from the back of his Jeep. The next thing I know, they're both up at the telephone pole and my baby boy, nearly 8 years old, is leaning over a viper pit...garter snake pit...whatever. Anyway, I scarcely had time to fear for his life when Bubba seizes the snake by the tail and holds it out to Grandpa, who is struggling to get the bag open in time. Grandpa closes the bag and walks back to the Jeep while my son, looking like the Croc Hunter, is all smiles.
We drive back home, create a makeshift place for him to stay and we head off to the pet store. Around $30.00 later, We walk out with the new home for our “free” garter snake. How was I able to leave the snake at home without alerting my wife? Very simple, she was out shopping with Grandma. We get the snake all settled in complete with sun lamp, water dish, rocks, hiding place and a fresh supply of crickets. When mother came home, we had been watching him for close to an hour.
Now, normally I wouldn’t stoop to such trickery, but in this case I had little choice other than subterfuge. Mom is still not thrilled, but she is slowly warming up to the concept. At least I think she is… she’s still not talking to me, at least not normally. She keeps mentioning something about Eve, heads and heels.
She had a slightly better reaction than Grandma, who took some convincing to get out of the car when she got home and heard about our new pet. Bubba has decided to name it Spot. A close runner-up was Doghouse.
1 comment:
Oh, I think it is very cool! You shouldn't lump all of us women together. I've held a tarantula and helped to hold a boa constrictor before.
I took my pet salamander to college with me and almost got in trouble for it. I had to go before the college housing board and argue my point that a salamander was indeed a aquatic animal and, therefore, "legal".
I've tried to get my husband to consider a terrarium, but he just firmly shakes his head "no". A garter snake would be very cool. Maybe if I had a boy, he would reconsider, but we just have the two girls. It's just not fair. *sigh*
I was just checking out your blog from the Homeschool Blog Awards. I'm going to check out some more, but I'm leaning towards yours for Best Dad Blog. I'm nominated for Best Artistic Content and Best Blog Design, if you want to come visit! God bless!
Post a Comment